HAILING from Glasgow, Aereogramme are the latest finds of Scotland's Chemikal Underground label, the cult art-school rock tastemakers who brought the likes of Mogwai and Arab Strap to the discerning music fan.

As you'd expect from a band with that pedigree, Aereogramme are an ambitious, emotional and uncompromising outfit, whose musical spectrum ranges from full-on metal fury to dark, slow-burning balladry, to surging string-laden epics - quite often in the same song. There are hints of fellow countrymen Idlewild and Biffy Clyro, even of the Manics and Placebo, but their musical ambitions are on a grander scale than that - they're about fragmented, emotive soundtracks rather than straight-ahead songs (occasional fourth member Iain Cook hails from the film soundtrack business). An impressive and inspiring record from what could be one of the discoveries of the year.

Updated: 10:03 Thursday, April 24, 2003